General information on Diabetes - Essay Example

General information on Diabetes Diabetes is one of the most critical health care concerns faced by the NHS in the UK in recent times. According tostatistics (collected during October, 2011) approximately 2.9 million people in the UK (i.e. 4.45 % of the total population) are diagnosed with the disease, and the number is likely to increase in the following years (Diabetes UK, 2012).Diabetes is a chronic condition which is characterized by a high amount of glucose in the body as a result of a deficiency of the hormone known as insulin.

It can occur in people across various age groups including children, adolescents as well as young adults. There are two major types of diabetes, categorized as - Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes (Alterman, Kullman, 2004; Clark, 2004). Table 1: Diabetes Prevalence in the UK (2011)Source: Diabetes UKCauses, Impact & consequences:There are various causes of diabetes such as genes, lifestyle and environmental factors however obesity is one of the most crucial factors which is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes and about 90% of the people diagnosed with diabetes, fall under the type 2 category (Department of Health, 2011).

It is identified as one of the leading causes of death worldwide (WHO, 2011). It is known to cause severe health complications resulting in acute and chronic illness such as cardiovascular disease and nerve damage, thus ultimately leading to early mortality (Harjutsalo, Forsblom, Groop, 2011). Intervention measures such as exercise and weight reduction are documented to have a positive impact on the overall health and reduction in diabetes among the patients (Hordern et al., 2011).References:Alterman, S. L., Kullman, D. A., (2004).

How to prevent & cure diabetes: minimize the impact diabetes has on your life, Fredrick Fell Publishers, Pp. 1-5Clark, M., (2004). Understanding diabetes, John Wiley & Sons Publication, Pp. 1-5Harjutsalo, V., Forsblom, C., Groop, P., (2011). Time trends in mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes: nationwide population based cohort study, The British Medical Journal, Vol. 343: d5364Hordern, M. D., Dunstan, D. W., Prins, J. B., (2011). Exercise prescription for patients with type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes: A position statement from exercise and sport science, Australia.

Journal of Science, Medicine and SportsDiabetes UK (2012). Reports and statistics [Online] Available at: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Professionals/Publications-reports-and-resources/Reports-statistics-and-case-studies/Reports/Diabetes-prevalence-2011-Oct-2011/ [Accessed: January 11, 2011]Department of Health (2011). Obesity general information [Online] Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Obesity/DH_078098 [Accessed: January 11, 2012]WHO (2011). Top 10 causes of death [Online] Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.

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